The online ticket seller says pre-release sales for the romance starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort are outpacing those for the 2012's tear-jerker "The Vow," which grossed more than $41 million in its first weekend in release.

Contributing to the drumbeat for the low-budget teen weeper based on the novel by John Green, Fandango on Tuesday said "Fault" is the biggest pre-selling romantic drama in its 14-year history. That comes with a big caveat, though, because Fandango does not include genre-based love stories such as the "Twilight" saga in that category.

Still, the pre-sales, which Fandango does not break out into raw figures, bode well for the movie that will face off with the new Tom Cruise sci-fi movie, "Edge of Tomorrow," this weekend.

Based on a survey of about 1,000 people, Fandango said 81% of "Fault" ticket buyers have read the book, 80% plan to see it in a group of friends and 77% saw Woodley and Elgort's last movie, "Divergent."

Sixteen years after SpongeBob SquarePants first appeared on television, the yellow animated character made a splash on the big screen this weekend with the release of "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water."